Happenings
by Lied89
Summary: About the things that happen or do not happen between Betty and Kate and what they might mean.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: _

_Hello and welcome to my first try at Bomb Girls. You may look forward to three Betty+Kate chapters. Thanks to my self-appointed editor, who's just the best, and I hope you'll enjoy :)_

* * *

**What is happening?**

It was weeks and days and months since Kate had returned. Weeks and days and months in the factory. In the bars. On the dance floor. Weeks and days and months together in Betty's room and in her bed.

Still they never said a word about how Kate came back, about what happened before and what was there between them. Because there was something there. A lot. Only it was nothing that could be grasped. Just a silent melody playing and twitching between them in the background.

Betty longed for it, for the safeness, the closeness, the touches, every moment, every glance that held that bit of promise in those glimmering grey-blue eyes which made her heart thump. And Kate felt safe and held and comforted like she never had before. There was no risk with Betty for Kate. She was just there and if she had a nightmare, she knew if she wanted she could go to her - no question asked.

Still there was something there. Something brewing. Betty knew it a little too well by now, while Kate felt it, but did not know what it was. Did not dare. She saw the pleading looks, felt the touches that sometimes were lasting slightly longer than ordinary comfort, and she heard the halting breaths near her ear which Betty sometimes drew when she was lying in Betty's arms.

When Kate started to notice and think about those things, she felt uncomfortable, just until she stopped thinking and let go. Because Kate knew Betty would never do anything she wouldn't want. And soon Kate liked it – the looks, the touches, the breaths - waited for them, and felt that much more reassured because of them. That was Betty, and Betty would always be there.

In Betty's head though they were together. She knew they weren't. But still there was that ongoing feeling that they were, and Kate had to know it, too, or Kate wouldn't take her hand and pull her just that little bit closer on the dance floor, wouldn't breath her name before accidentally falling asleep in her arms while listening to the latest news of the war on the radio. Kate just wouldn't bear with all those friendly touches that Betty could no longer stop her fingers from doing more and more each day.

If Betty were a guy and she were Kate, she would already have given herself a good old hard kicking into the nuts. But Kate hadn't, so... what did it mean? It tore at Betty and she was sure that soon she was going to snap.

At the end the question that remained was: what was happening or exactly not happening between them?


	2. Chapter 2

**Nothing Happens**

That one night, they were dancing and drinking just enough to be tipsy and about ready to do something stupid, and on the way back home Gladys had just been able to stop Betty from making a fool of herself by playing their hero to a bunch of men whistling and throwing crude comments at their backs. The factory girls had helped to grab Betty by her arms and pull her along, while they ran the rest of the way to the boarding house, laughing endlessly, since they were used to this kind of behavior by the men from work.

At their doorstep they parted ways with Gladys and Vera, and Betty and Kate, holding on to each other in order to not eventually lose their footing, made their way up the stairs.

„You and being tough," Kate giggled and punched Betty's upper arm, thinking back to how Betty had tried to defend their honor. She swayed with Betty down the hall and through the slalom of other girls' clothes that had been hung out to dry over the clotheslines running across the corridor.

„Yeah." Betty could only crook her mouth in an attempt at a smile. Even being hit sent jingles up and down her spine, and a certain burning kind of warmth took over the side at which Kate leaned against her with their arms hooked.

„I'm a tough girl!" Betty proclaimed and even while she said it she felt how her face wanted to fall and how the cracks from their touch cut their way right through her not so tough chest.

Betty knew Kate surely had not caught that it was the comments toward Kate that had made her go off, nor would she understand it either.

„I'm even sure you would have beaten them senseless," Kate remarked with a stupid smile across her face, her eyes glazed over by a fine layer of obliviousness.

They slowly came to a stop in front of the doors to their respective rooms and with a grin Kate let her hand trail down Betty's arm to grasp her hand while she spun them, so that they faced each other. „Actually - I'm sure you can do everything!"

Kate's eyes had that simmering trust and hope in them that only children were allowed to have in their innocence and naivety when dreaming about snowflakes and their fathers being home from war at Christmas.

Betty loved that look, that look of wonder Kate often got when she discovered something new, and Betty especially loved it when it was directed at her. It made her feel special and like her chest swelled and by this latest moment, she felt sober and only the words tumbling from her mouth were the indicator for some inhibitions having been unchained through some drinks tonight.

„Everything - if it's for you," Betty breathed, squeezing the hand in hers for just that moment. And then there it was - that tension. Kate could feel it clearly in the way that Betty looked at her unwaveringly. It made her throat feel tight. She never knew what to do and suddenly she was quickly back on the ground.

It was not Betty – her hero, standing in front of her anymore, but someone else entirely – rather an animal with such deep, beautiful eyes, which she did not know if it was tame or not. And then it was gone, as quickly as it came.

Catching herself falling into Kate's grey eyes, losing control, Betty fearfully cut their gaze and stepped back, trying to get her casualness back, but couldn't help the considerate look to the side at her door. „Will you come in?"

„I..." Kate looked around, not knowing what to expect, and let Betty's hand tumble out of her own. Why did Betty sometimes feel so dangerous? She was the safest place on earth. It made Kate feel cold. In the place that Betty was dangerous and not on her side anymore, she was completely lost and alone.

„I can make tea," Betty offered harmlessly, having watched the scared look pass over Kate's face and Betty knew she was in trouble now. „Should drink something or your pretty head will hurt in the morning," Betty joked, her bright, crooked, trademark smile on her face, but it did not seem to work. Kate stared down, like she was frozen to the floor, making Betty feel wary. „Kate?"

Kate did not react. She had an idea what this whole thing was, but she did not dare. Usually she did not dare. But what if it would not go away like she hoped? What if Betty would be sick of her and going to leave in the end? She never dared to consider this until this moment, because of what it would mean. But she felt the moments piling up, letting them come closer and closer to an edge that needed a decision, an end or everything could be torn apart.

„Do you want me?" Kate suddenly asked, surprised and terrified about how clear she saw things in this moment and about her own bravery at jumping into the dark lake of sin and the unknown. But if it would eat her alive, then it might, at least she had tried and not thrown away the best and only friendship, the best person she ever had.

Betty's breath kept away by the question and she stared caught at her friend. Though what did caught mean? She had told her before. Still, she could not believe this moment. Her eyes swayed over Kate, her white face and demanding eyes, making her throat turn dry. She could not deny it.

„Yes," Betty said, swallowing down her fear, straightening up, pulling her shoulders back and preparing herself for the hit that was surely going to come and she would just close her eyes and let it burn.

And then it did burn. But in a completely different way.

Out of nowhere Kate's lips touched her own and it hit Betty hard, making her stumble back in surprise - disbelief, followed by quickly suppressed glory and hope, flooding her body.

„What?" Betty questioned confused, running the back of her hand over her just kissed lips, while staring at Kate and not being able to stop her eyes from hopefully swaying to those soft petals of promise again.

Betty wanted to step over there, grab Kate, pull her to her and experience the purest bliss she could imagine from those tingling feelings that had been haunting her body for months now, and she was just a spit away from doing so - to hell with the consequences and eventual hurt. She wanted that.

But Kate was thrown about Betty's reaction, and this lack of feeling she was experiencing. There should be more, shouldn't there? Still she took the step that was needed to get to Betty and placed her trembling fingers against Betty's chest, her eyes concentrating on the buttons of her green button-down shirt.

„Can we go in?"

Kate's voice was nothing but an uncertain whisper and Betty had no idea what it meant. It was toneless. No golden harmony.

„Y-yes," Betty whispered back, unsure how to handle the woman leaning against her now – was this still Kate? „Of course."

Betty reached back, opening the door to her room, and let them in, Kate passing her while tucking some of her red strands behind her ear, Betty's eyes never stopping their watch of her friend.

In the end they silently fell asleep together, too scared to burst their bubble. And nothing happened. Like all the other nights. Nothing ever happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**Something Happened.**

It was in the way that Kate moved – hasty and timid and so very attentive to what she was doing when Betty was around. Betty just felt that something was off, just knew it in the way that Kate's body screamed at her, _something's going on and I don't know how to handle it_!

Betty knew it. In the secret looks, the shy smiles, the exhilaration that seemed to run through Kate's body when he passed - she had seen it, but still didn't want to see it. She just could not. It did not work, did not fit in her image of them. She could try to squeeze it in, but she knew it wouldn't be right. Still she could not face it.

So she waited, waited for the moment that Kate came over, sat on her bed, took out the nail-polish as an excuse and touched her hand and her heart, because feeling this hurt was better than feeling nothing.

„Something happened," Kate finally admitted after a long pause, paying the closest attention to not smudge the polish over the rims of Betty's perfectly short cut nails – the best worker that she was. "Something I did not mean to happen."

„Uh-huh," Betty just made disconnected, causing Kate to cautiously look up and recognize that Betty already knew – how could she not? A breeze of fear and emptiness crept across Kate's alert skin. „I don't know what to do. What do I do?"

„You're really asking me?" Betty wanted to pull her hand back and lash out, but she just could not – the touch too precious and herself being just too stunned in that moment that Kate actually had the nerve to ask her about relationship advice.

Kate looked completely lost at Betty, though. Who else was she going to ask? No one else could give her the answer that she was going to need. She needed Betty. She needed her permission, her blessing. She needed her.

Kate did not know what to say and her mouth just stood open in helplessness - she just felt drawn to him. What was she supposed to do? She never was able to explore those feelings before.

The riddled look on Kate's face gave Betty enough, though. Kate simply was not that stupid. She had to know. A fury of passion and rage soared up Betty's chest and she leaned forward, explaining, „Kate, I love you," with a hurtful mass of earnestness in her voice, her eyes glazing. „How long does it take?"

Kate shrank back by Betty's outburst and looked down, not being able to handle the amount of love being thrown at her.

„I know," she admitted shyly and wanted to strangle herself, because she definitely did not deserve that love from Betty now.

Betty looked confused. She had not exactly expected that answer. Hadn't that been the problem? That Kate did not fully realize?

„Then what?" Betty asked perplexed and then more uncontrolled when Kate avoided her eyes, "For gods sake - then what!?" Betty hit the mattress between them and at this point she felt like she could tear a 1000 pages big phone book apart with her bare hands - that much impatience, feeling like strength, was coursing and tumbling through her veins right now.

For the tiniest moment Kate was scared – the mattress shaking beneath them by the impact of Betty's fist, but that feeling was quickly replaced by the deepest sadness, when Kate realized how profound this actually was for Betty. Betty loved her. Really. And she was just a breath away from owning that.

"I _want_ to love you," Kate explained and it brought tears to her eyes. She reached her hand out to grasp Betty's wrist - she could not allow Betty to pull back. Betty had to know that she meant it. "Even though it's wrong."

Raw and torn open, Betty's gaze shifted between Kate's. Kate's grey-blue pools of disarming candor were shimmering with tears, but they were not exactly desperate. They had regret in them, yes, a lot of love and a bit of sadness, but mostly it was a plea speaking out of them – a plea to be understood.

Betty slowly leaned back, a coldness rushing through her body by the message being absorbed in her system bit by bit. She understood. But it still felt like losing a complete world.

Trying to deal and accept, Betty let herself fall back on her bed, the air heavily leaving her lungs. She closed her eyes and slowly extracted her arm from Kate's fingers, not being able to handle the contact at this moment, though she should actually be used to being rejected by now.

"I think you need to go now," Betty said detached and felt like she was falling into that lonely, grey world again where it was just her. How should she ever manage to get out there?

"No, Betty," Kate said alarmed, feeling Betty pull back already. "I love you."

"Yeah, you think that," Betty said and turned to the side – away from Kate, brushing her anew reached out hand away once more.

"I..." Kate did not know what to say. She could just stare at Betty's back, her blonde locks falling over her shoulders – their friendship lying beaten in front of her feet. The truth. "I don't want to lose you."

"Yes, and that's the worst!" Betty croaked, her heart crumbling to the ground – whatever she thought they had, they definitely did not have, if Kate thought that and played her because of it.

Kate just waited, not knowing if repeating what Betty meant to her would help it or only do it worse. So she said nothing. She only waited, because she said it all, and now she had to know what Betty made of it.

Silence permeated the room and Betty took some deep breaths to calm herself down and swallow everything that stood in between them right now, trying to get a clear head, feeling and knowing that Kate sat behind her, confused and helpless about what to do – her little lamb, expecting something, while she herself just could not break.

"You won't. Promise," Betty finally brought herself to say and explained, "You only think you will." She took a deep breath and secretly brushed some leaking tears away. "Love can't be forced. I know. I don't force you."

Kate could still only stare at Betty's back, feeling a kind of relief, though she still did not know where they were. "But..."

"Please be honest with yourself," Betty cut her off, feeling a certain emptiness build a hollow in her soul by every passing second and she just could not manage to lose more. "Go now."

Kate pressed her lips together, not pleased with leaving Betty like this, but she knew that eventually she had to. Betty would never want her there if she wanted to cry or lose it and she could understand. She did not like that either. So she stood up and slowly walked to the door, turning back when she touched the cold doorknob. "Are we...?"

Betty breathed in, getting in touch with all that she felt. But realizing that she actually definitely did not want to lose Kate either and that it felt like Kate would be a person that would always be there with all that they already had experienced together, she said with all the truth in her heart, "I'm not mad."

Kate nodded, opened the door and leaned herself against its side a moment longer, while she watched her best friend lying in bed in pain. She meant to brand the picture into her head to never forget how much Betty had done for her and how much she cared. "I love you."

A certain clearness washed over Betty then by hearing those words spoken again - soft-spoken and true, but missing that certain touch of deep- and rawness.

"Ya can't give me what I want, golden throat," Betty said, bitter but open eyed.

The words brought a smile to Kate's lips and she turned to go. Betty had her snark in her voice, but not in a dark way, and Kate knew, eventually it would be okay.


End file.
